A friendship visit from our volunteer Farrah transformed Mildred’s life. Please give what you can, so our Friendship Services can prevent the heartbreak of isolation.

Mildred's story

“My name is Mildred and I’m 88 years old. I have so many happy memories of past Christmases, especially when my dear husband John was alive. The house was always full of people. Christmas was a wonderful time.

Now that I’m on my own, this time of year is a lot less merry. My Christmases are a lot lonelier. It’s wonderful to be invited to spend Christmas Day with family. But I never like to overstay my welcome. As soon as I get home, I’m on my own again.

When you are back in a house with nobody else in it – that is real loneliness. When there’s nobody there, there’s no way of expressing yourself, especially if you haven’t seen anybody for days.

The most important thing for older people is that people come and visit you or give you a call. That’s why I’m so happy that I have Farrah, my wonderful visitor from Independent Age. Farrah and Independent Age have really changed my life and I sincerely mean that. At last I feel like there is someone who understands me and knows people of my age group and how we feel about things.

Before she started visiting me, I didn’t have many people to talk to. But she has made a huge difference.

Independent Age have made such a big difference to my life. They really have. But I know there are still a lot of older people who could do with their own visitor like Farrah.

That’s why I really hope you can make a donation this Christmas, to help Independent Age give support to more older people and provide volunteers like Farrah to brighten up their days. I promise you it will bring a lot of joy to people’s lives.

Merry Christmas

Mildred

Please give a gift to Independent Age today

With your donation, our Friendship services can support even more older people like Mildred.

Please give a special Christmas gift of £20 today so we can help more lonely older people feel less alone in the weeks and month ahead.

With your help, Independent Age can make things better for lonely older people.

The harsh reality today is that too many older people are lonely.

Two out of every five older people say television is their main form of company

More than a million people over 75 live alone

Lonely people are more prone to depression

As you know, we are dedicated to bringing life-changing help to people in Mildred’s situation. Our Friendship Services are a key part of that.

And with your kind support, we train volunteers to provide essential company for older people living alone. For Mildred and others, it can be a rare chance to enjoy sharing a pot of tea and a chat with a sympathetic friend. By helping older people to feel less isolated and more connected to the community we can improve their physical and mental health.

Please support our Christmas appeal to help our Friendship services support more older people